Boeing it seems cannot keep away from controversies, both voluntary as well as involuntary. In the most recent case, a federal judge James Robart, who overturned a $72 million verdict against Boeing (NYSE: BA) disclosed BA stock trades in his wife’s IRA while he was involved in the case.

While the amount – between $1,000 and $15,000 – might not be large enough to raise eyebrows too much, it is yet another case of a massive conflict of interest in the Boeing crisis. Importantly, this is yet another controversy to hit the aircraft maker, just days after it announced that it is halting the trials of its 777X after finding a crack in its structure.

For context on the case that Robart dismissed, an electric aircraft startup Zunum Aero – which aspired to become the “Tesla of commercial aviation” – filed a lawsuit against Boeing in 2020 accusing the company of stealing its plans for an electric short-haul airplane and depriving it of funding.

Judge Who Overturned Boeing Verdict Traded in BA Stock

In June, a jury awarded Zunum $72 million after its findings showed Boeing “willfully” stole its trade secrets. Boeing appealed that decision which was overturned by Robart.

In his statement to the Business Insider, Robart said that the shares were purchased in April 2023 by the bank that managed his wife’s IRA. However, he reportedly made sure they were sold as soon as he got to know about the trades. The Business Insider report added that Robart’s financial disclosures said BA shares were sold in May and June on two different dates.

While we don’t know the exact profits or losses that his wife made on Boeing shares, looking at the price action, one tranche of selling might have been made at a profit. Robart did not inform the lawyers of either party nor did he publicly acknowledge these trades. However, he did include these in the financial disclosures as required by law.

Naturally, judges should not be trading the stocks of the companies that they are presiding over in major cases. Otherwise they could simply buy up a bunch of the stock before handing down a positive ruling, constituting insider trading. But it’s also totally possible that Robart knew nothing about the trades.

“There could be some market movement, but it’s not going to influence my decision,” said Robart. Meanwhile, Robart seems to be on the right side of the law even as some experts argue that disclosing these trades publicly to both parties could have been pertinent.

Retired law professor Bill Hodes who focused on legal ethics believes that Robart’s actions do not look more than a “technical violation.” Notably, the trade in Boeing shares is a tiny fraction of Robart’s net worth as he has disclosed owning millions of dollars of financial assets.

The next course of action here could be for Zunum to appeal the case. However, Gabe Roth, whose group “Fix The Court” focuses on judicial ethics does not think it would make any difference.

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DOJ Deputy AG Had BA as a Client

To be sure, this is far from the first instance where those investigating Boeing have been accused of a conflict of interest.

Notably, Boeing had Lisa Monaco, the deputy attorney general at the DOJ, on its payroll as a consultant while she worked at WestExec Advisors. David Sirota, a top journalist at TheLever, pointed out that she is the one to decide whether Boeing will be prosecuted for criminal offenses. If that wasn’t enough, that consulting firm was co-founded by current US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

There have been calls for Monaco to rescue herself from the case amid concerns over conflict of interest. In its letter, the American Economic Liberties Project said, that the news of Boeing escaping criminal investigation in favor of a plea deal over the 2 fatal accidents “is likely to create the impression in the mind of the public that a senior DOJ official’s personal interests have impacted the DOJ’s internal deliberation process and the outcome.”

Boeing is now pleading guilty to the criminal fraud conspiracy charges levied by the DOJ but the plea seems to be quite the sweetheart deal.

Boeing Security Woes

For context, Boeing’s troubles began when two new 737 Max jets crashed in quick succession, just a few months apart, between 2018 and 2019, in Indonesia and Ethiopia. After the first crash, Boeing allowed 737 Max planes to fly again even though it didn’t know what caused it, directly leading to a second tragic crash where all 157 people on board were killed.

Earlier this year, the door panel of a 737 Max jet blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight. Later in April, the engine cover on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 fell off during takeoff last month. Lawmakers have been quite bipartisan in criticizing Boeing over the security issues. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, who was among the most vocal in grilling then-CEO Dave Calhoun during his testimony in June told him, “I think the problem’s with you. You. It’s the C-suite. It’s the management. It’s what you’ve done to this company. That’s where the problem is.”

While Boeing replaced Calhoun with aviation industry veteran Kelly Ortberg earlier this month, the company’s woes are far from over. Recently, Boeing said that it is halting the trials of its 777X after finding a crack in its structure.

Reportedly, Boeing found that a component called “thrust link” which is part of the structure connecting the engine with the airplane, failed after a test flight. It then conducted follow-up inspections to find the part cracked on two other planes.

BA Continues to Battle Negative PR

However, the incident raises even more eyebrows about the build quality of Boeing’s planes at a time when the company is already battling negative PR over the safety of its aircraft.

As for the conflicts of interest that keep popping up now and then the general perception seems to be that despite fatal crashes and continued security-related issues, Boeing is getting way too lightly. Boeing’s 2021 agreement with the DOJ did not go over well with many as the company seemingly got away with just a financial fine while the top leadership skipped any accountability. The fine cost the company only a fraction of its annual profit in 2023.

The 2021 settlement was controversial from the very beginning as the families of victims slammed it for denying them justice. The families have been lobbying to end the agreement with Boeing as they continue to seek justice for their loved ones who died in the twin accidents.